John Mason Dill Archive: Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company Photographic Collection

The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company (TCI) was one of the largest steel manufacturers in America. TCI, originally named Sewanee Furnace Company, was founded in 1852 by Nashville entrepreneurs. In 1859, after financial troubles, they sold their business to New York investors and the name was changed to Tennessee Coal, Iron, and Railroad Company.

In 1876, Thomas O’Connor purchased the company and soon after he expanded the business into iron manufacturing. After TCI purchased the Birmingham-based Pratt Coal and Iron Company in 1886, they expanded their operation into Alabama, relocating their offices to Birmingham in 1895. During the last two decades of nineteenth century, they were the largest blast furnace operator in the South, having seventeen blast furnaces in operation in 1900.

The company’s largest industrial plant was located in Ensley, Alabama, founded by company president Enoch Ensley in 1886. The town and the plant, located outside of Birmingham, were growing rapidly. In 1899, the plant had four blast furnaces in operation, and in 1906 two more were built producing 40,000 tons of steel that year.

TCI’s main competitor, the United States Steel Corporation, acquired TCI in 1907. TCI continued to operate independently as a subsidiary of U. S. Steel Corporation. In 1910, work began on a new community called Corey, Alabama, which was later renamed Fairfield.

TCI’s independence from U. S. Steel ended in 1952. Ten years later, a decline began as most of the Birmingham mines were closing down. In the following decades, TCI experienced downsizing and consolidation of the Ensley and Fairfield plants. The Fairfield plant continued to operate, with diminished capacity, until November 17, 2015 when the last 1,600 employees were laid off.

Source: Wikipedia.